365 Days of Praise

Matthew 9:8

Satan offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. (Mt 4:8) Jesus refused his offer. However, He received God’s gift: AUTHORITY.  Jesus has “all authority in heaven and on earth.” (Mt 28:18) With that authority, He speaks to us. (See Mt 28:19-20) Some people acknowledge Christ’s authority and submit their will to Him. Others act like Jesus isn’t God and go their merry way – living however they like. But life is not a game. It’s not “flip a coin” and see if I feel like obeying Christ’s teachings. He came FROM heaven TO earth to save us from sin. Sin is eternally deadly. Are we so inundated with it, we’ve become comfortable with sin? Or, are we appalled by our sin and go the Lord in repentance; asking for His empowerment to overcome it? Jesus has all authority in heaven and earth. His authority is not something to be dismissed; but rather, humbly acknowledged and bowed to.

Our Lord, Jesus,  You have all AUTHORITY in heaven and on earth. Forgive us when we read Your teachings and then dismiss them as if we were reading Dear Abby’s suggestions. You are LORD and we are Your servants. May we never forget that, and may we humbly bow to Your authority. 

 “for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose ARCHITECT and builder is God,”

Hebrews 11:10

Have you ever needed an architect; someone to help you design your home, office, or some other building? In the letter to the Hebrews, we’re told that Abraham set his eyes on a city whose ARCHITECT and builder was God. In other words, Abraham’s hope was not in what he would build on earth. He knew what he built wouldn’t last. He knew the heavenly Jerusalem would be perfect, and it was on that Abraham set his eyes. We do well to also remember that our earthly plans are temporal. But, like Abraham, we can look forward to the new Jerusalem, whose ARCHITECT and builder is God.

Lord God, we praise You, Architect of the eternal Jerusalem, perfect and filled with Your glory.

“Blessed is the man You choose, And cause to APPROACH You, That he may dwell in Your courts.”

Psalm 65:4 NKJV

Have you ever wanted to approach someone to visit or discuss an issue, but felt the person was unapproachable?  Isn’t it incredible that our God IS APPROACHABLE? Does that make you want to jump up and down in praise? It should! We can go to God with anything, anytime. Our Heavenly Father is APPROACHABLE because Jesus opened the way for us through His blood. “GOD. APPROACHABLE.” To put the two words together is a blessing for which we can rejoice and praise Him. 

LORD, thank You for being an APPROACHABLE GOD; to whom we can come anytime. We praise You! 

Luke 4:18

It makes me smile to read Christ’s words. He had just returned from being tempted by Satan in the wilderness. He was led by the Spirit in the power of the Spirit.” (Lk 4:14) What was His first Spirit anointed action? He went home to Nazareth. I love that. And get this – “as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.” This is a good place for us to pause and ask ourselves, “Is it our custom to gather with believers to read and hear the Scriptures? Are we raising our children with the custom of gathering with believers? If it was what God’s ANOINTED Lord Jesus did, it’s what I want to do. I’d have hated missing Him speak that day. I’d hate to miss Him speaking today.

Jesus, we praise You, ANOINTED Lord and Savior, for Your words and example of the Spirit-led life.

“I kept looking in the night visions,
And behold, with the clouds of heaven
One like a Son of Man was coming,
And He came up to the ANCIENT of DAYS
And was presented before Him.”

Daniel 7:9

Can you imagine being a godly statesman in a court of heathen monarchs? Can you imagine standing up for your faith, it being put to the test, but you remaining faithful to the one true God? Can you imagine God honoring your faithfulness by entrusting to you glimpses into heaven and the future? Daniel received dreams and visions in which He saw God, the ANCIENT of DAYS. This reference to God as Judge would have comforted Daniel. The ANCIENT of DAYS judges righteously and with the wisdom of the ages.  All that is wrong will be brought to light in the presence of the Ancient of Days.

LORD GOD, we praise You, the ANCIENT of DAYS!

“This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered…”

Hebrews 6:19

Do you ever feel like you’re drifting in your walk with God? Perhaps you were once closer to Him, but now struggle to have a few minutes of prayer. Maybe what never would have been a temptation is now a daily struggle. Perhaps you’re drowning in a sea of responsibility, and waves of pressure overwhelm you. You don’t know how you can go on. Friend, in whatever situation we find ourselves, Christ is the ANCHOR OF OUR SOUL. He cares about our mind, emotions, will, and spirit. Rather than drift, struggle, or sink, we can fix our eyes on Him.

Lord Jesus, we praise You, the ANCHOR OF OUR SOUL. Thank You for eternally anchoring us to the glory of Your presence. 

“They were AMAZED at His (Jesus) teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”  Mark 1:22

“All the crowds were AMAZED and were saying, ‘This man cannot be the Son of David, can He?'” Matthew 12:23

Verse after verse in the Bible, “AMAZED” is used to describe people’s reactions to Jesus. The New Testament word “amazed” means astonished, thrown into wonderment.  Jesus’ teachings amazed people. They were astonished when He cast out demons and healed the lame. They were “thrown into wonderment” when Jesus rose from the dead. Oh, that we be amazed, astonished, and thrown into wonderment as we look upon our Lord.

Lord Jesus, We praise You, our AMAZING Lord.  

*This is one of God’s 365 attributes for which we can look up, praise, and trust Him. To learn about His other attributes and ways you can know God and praise Him, join us HERE. 

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’”

Revelation 1:8

“I don’t know where this is going.” Have you ever said or thought those words? The past is a blur. The future is uncertain. In the midst of our ever changing world, Jesus Christ announces that He’s not going anywhere. He was with us in the past. He’s with us this moment. He’ll be with us tomorrow. We do well to look up in awe and praise.

Christ Jesus, ALPHA and OMEGA, we praise YOU, who is and who was and who is to come. 

*This is one of God’s 365 attributes for which we can look up, praise, and trust Him. To learn about His other attributes and ways you can know God and praise Him, join us HERE. 

The Bible provides several examples of the Lord revealing Himself to people. One such example is when Abram, later known as Abraham, was 99 years old. The Lord appeared to him and introduced Himself as the Lord Almighty. Read the account in Genesis 17:1-2: “Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, ‘I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless. I will establish My covenant between Me and you, And I will multiply you exceedingly.’”

The Old Testament word for “Almighty” means “most powerful.” The New Testament word means “he who holds sway over all things, the ruler of all.” Together, these words reveal that the Almighty is the most powerful being who holds sway over all things.

God wanted Abraham to know His power and ability to hold sway over his life. God wants us to know, too.

ALMIGHTY God, we praise You, the most powerful One who holds sway over all things. Hold sway over our heart today so that we walk blamelessly before You.

*This is one of God’s 365 attributes for which we can look up, praise, and trust Him. To learn about His other attributes and ways you can know God and praise Him, join us HERE.